She Took My Heart
by Disney Ink
Summary: Gaston has lost Vanessa, the only girl he's ever loved, and he'll do anything to get her back. Vanessa still loves Gaston, of course; but there's no way she can ever be with him again after what he did. And Meg is stuck as the middle man in Gaston and Vanessa's break up. High school AU featuring many Disney and non-Disney characters.
1. Chapter 1

"She took my heart  
Well there's only one thing I couldn't start"  
-Gin Blossoms, _Hey Jealousy_

* * *

Gaston woke up when something heavy landed on top of him. He opened his eyes and came face to face with a dark red cat. He scowled at it. _Why the hell is there a cat in my bedroom? _He slowly reached under his pillow for the gun he keeps there, but he couldn't find it. He shoved the cat off him and it landed on the floor with a thud.

Gaston scanned the room and frowned. He was definitely in a bedroom, but it's not his. _Where am I?_ He rolled over and the first thing he saw was an old magazine poster of Zack Morris. As his eyes roamed over the walls he saw more magazine pinups of 90s heartthrobs: James Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson, Freddie Prinze, Jr. and older pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake. Clearly, he was in some chick's bedroom. _What the fuck? _He wondered. _How did I manage to bang this chick with all these posters around?_

Gaston sat up and was instantly met with a hangover headache. "Oh," he muttered. "That's how."

He got to his feet with a groan and got dressed. He started for the bedroom door, but stopped short when he saw the picture frames on the dresser. He had no idea who he had hooked up with last night, but it was almost certain he would run into her and her parents when he left the room, so it would be best to know who she was to avoid any uncomfortable surprises. He glanced at the photos, hoping they'd hold a clue.

They did.

Dread filled Gaston's stomach as he noticed there was one girl that appeared in every picture; his stepbrother's girlfriend, Ariel.

"Great," he mumbled to himself. "This is just great."

The bedroom door opened and Ariel came in. The cat walked over to her and started meowing. She picked him up and nuzzled him. "Good morning, Sebastian," she cooed. The cat meowed again. Gaston cleared his throat. Ariel looked at him briefly, before dropping her eyes and blushing. "Uh… Good morning, Gaston," she stammered. Sebastian jumped from her arms and sauntered out into the hallway. Ariel closed the door behind him.

"Ariel, last night did we…?"

Ariel nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, still avoiding eye contact with him. She nodded. "You're not gonna tell Eric, are you?"

"Of course not." Gaston made his way towards the door.

Ariel quickly stopped him by pressing her hands against his chest. She blushed as she eyed his perfectly sculpted pecs through his tight t-shirt. _No doubt thinking about last night_, Gaston thought to himself with a smirk. Ariel retracted her hands.

"Where are you going?" she asked, slightly panicked.

"Home."

"You can't use the front door," Ariel told him. "My parents can't see you here. Use the window."

"Fine," he grumbled. He walked across the window, careful not to look at any of the posters. He slid it open, grateful to see they were on the first floor.

"I'll see you at school later," Ariel said.

Gaston frowned. "School?"

She nodded. "Yeah. It's Monday."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Even after stopping home to shower and change, Gaston still made it to school early. He grabbed his book for first period and the bumper sticker covered binder where he kept all of his notebooks and folders. When he slammed his locker shut he found Meg was now leaning against the locker next to his. And she was looking as sexy as ever. She was wearing a black leather halter top, skinny jeans with holes revealing fishnets underneath and black stiletto boots. She had her notebook and folder stuck inside her textbook and they dangled from her his hand, but he hardly noticed. Her arms were crossed just under chest, lifting her breasts slightly and causing her already perfect cleavage to pop out of her top a little more.

"Do I even wanna know where you were last night?" Meg finally asked, after letting Gaston check her out.

"Are you checking up on me?" Gaston retorted.

Meg flicked her wrist up, dismissing his accusation. "Please. I don't care what you do. What I _do _care about is that you ditched me at the tavern last night and I had to get a ride home from Naveen; who can't keep his hands to himself."

"Sorry," Gaston said. And he meant it; Naveen was such a tool.

Meg shrugged. "Whatever. Letting him drive me home was the least I could do after he bought my drinks all night."

"And then you sent him home with blue balls and not so much as a kiss?"

Meg flipped her brown hair over her shoulder. "That's what he gets for vomiting on my shoes when he walked me to my door."

"Again- sorry I ditched you. I needed a distraction."

Meg nodded and her eyes wandered across the hall. "Speak of the devil."

Gaston almost didn't want to look, but he couldn't stop himself. And there she was.

Vanessa.

She was talking to one of his friends, Sinbad. But Gaston didn't even glance at Sinbad. How could he when Vanessa was teasing him with her lavender corset-style tank top showing off her fit body and white cutoffs that were so short, the bottoms of the pockets were sticking out? She was wearing white high-heeled sandals that put emphasis on her toned legs. _God, she's perfect_.

Vanessa was his ex-girlfriend and she hated him. But, he had to get her back. She was all he could think about since she broke up with him a few weeks ago; her dark brown hair, purple eyes, creamy skin… the way she kissed him.

Gaston forced his eyes away from her.

"She's doing this on purpose," Meg told him, motioning at how Vanessa was flirting with Sinbad. "She wants you to be miserable after what you did."

"I didn't do anything," Gaston muttered.

Meg slowly shook her head. "There's a whole town of people who say otherwise."

"I don't care what they think. I only care about Vanessa."


	2. Chapter 2

"I was angry inside when I knew we were through."  
-Meryl Streep (cover), _Mamma Mia_

* * *

Vanessa could feel Gaston's eyes on her as she talked with Sinbad, but she did her best not to look over at him. She tried to focus on whatever line Sinbad was giving her. She couldn't. All she could focus on was Gaston's piercing blue eyes. They were so vivid; even now, though she wasn't actually looking at him, she could see them perfectly in her mind... intense and mischievous. _Stupid sexy brute..._

Sinbad said something and chuckled. Vanessa had no idea what he had said, nor did she care, but she laughed along with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gaston watching them while he talked to Meg. Meg was a mutual friend of theirs. She and Gaston had been friends long before Vanessa started dating him, but she quickly became one of Vanessa's best friends as well. Meg refused to pick a side in the break up and unfortunately ended up becoming the middle man. Though it was no secret she had a little more loyalty towards Gaston than Vanessa.

Sinbad propped his arm against the wall and leaned forward. "So, Vanessa; how 'bout you go to the Homecoming dance with me next weekend?"

Now Vanessa let herself glance over at Gaston. He averted his eyes, but Meg was watching her, waiting for her to give Sinbad her answer. Vanessa looked back up at Sinbad. He really wasn't that bad looking. He was tall, muscular (not as muscular as Gaston, but enough to make any girl swoon at the sight of his biceps); with dark hair, dark eyes, tan skin and perfect teeth. Vanessa could certainly do worse.

She stepped closer to the bad boy and gave him her best flirty smile. "I'd love to."

Sinbad gave her a crooked smile. "Great..."

He continued to talk, but Vanessa tuned him out when she saw Gaston storm off down the hall. He was upset. Good! He deserved it after what he did.

"Vanessa, what the hell are you doing?" Meg demanded. She was still on the other side of the hallway; she was leaning against the lockers with one foot propped up behind her, her book with folder and notebook dangling from one hand at her side and she was examining the black nail polish on her other hand.

"I don't know what are you talking about," Vanessa stated.

Meg snorted as she kicked off the wall. She slowly walked over to them, then put her hand on her hip and stared hard at Sinbad, then Vanessa. "You're trying to make Gaston jealous," she finally said.

"Are you suggesting that I'm using Sinbad?" asked Vanessa.

"Not suggesting- outright saying it. Admit it, Vanessa; you only agreed to go to the dance with Sinbad because you knew it would upset Gaston."

Vanessa didn't miss a beat. "You're wrong." Of course Meg wasn't wrong. After what Gaston did, Vanessa wanted to make him pay. She didn't care about Sinbad; he was just a pawn in her battle against Gaston.

Meg slowly nodded. "I hope so. Because this-" she motioned between them with her hand- "is only gonna piss him off."

Sinbad draped his arm over Vanessa's shoulders. "Let him get pissed. He had his chance with Vanessa and he fucked it up. And now she's moving on."

They started to walk away, but Meg slammed her hand against the wall and blocked their path with her arm.

Meg stepped close to Vanessa. "Do you really want to get into this with Gaston? 'Cause you know _both_ of you will end up getting hurt."

Vanessa glared her eyes at her friend. "Gaston can't hurt me anymore."

"I'd believe that if you didn't still love him." Meg didn't wait for Vanessa to respond before walking away.

Sinbad laughed. "Like anyone could love that monster."

Vanessa nodded, but said nothing. _She _loved him. Vanessa knew it, Meg knew it; she just hoped Gaston didn't know it. If he did it would be incredibly easy for him to hurt her more than she could ever hurt him. Not much really got to Gaston; Vanessa wondered if he even cared that she broke up with him. Probably not. He's probably been in bed with a different girl every night this past month. That's just how he was. Gaston could literally have any girl he wanted and when he was done with one, he just moved on to the next.

"Come on, babe; I'll walk you to class," Sinbad said, leading her down the hall.

His arm suddenly felt heavy on her shoulders and she wanted to move it off her, but if she was going to convince Gaston that she was over him, she was really gonna have to commit. She wrapped her arm around Sinbad's waist.

"So, I was thinking," she told him. "Maybe you'd like to come over to my house tonight? My parents are gone until tomorrow night."

Sinbad thought for a moment, then gave her a wicked look. "Why don't you throw a party?"

"On a Monday night?"

Sinbad shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

Vanessa nodded. "All right. Get the word out: party at my place tonight."

"That's my girl." They stopped outside Vanessa's classroom. "I'll see ya later." Sinbad kissed her cheek, then sprinted down the hall.

Vanessa watched him, wanting to call out that she wasn't _his _girl- or anyone's for that matter. She didn't belong to anyone. Not anymore. She used to love it when Gaston would call her his. But, she was certain she was a different girl now; guarded, shut off and cold. That's what happens when you give yourself completely to someone; eventually it all falls apart and you end up a hollow shell of the person you used to be.

The bell rang and Vanessa went into the classroom. Gaston was sitting in his regular seat between Vanessa's empty desk and Shang- the number one athlete in the school. Vanessa strolled over to her desk with confidence. She then leaned over her desk towards Gaston, making sure he got a good view of her cleavage. Gaston looked over at her, his eyes immediately falling to her chest.

"My parents are out of town," she told him. A lustful look came to his eye; no doubt imagining all the fun the two of them had in the past when her parents were gone for a night. She bit her lip and gave him a coy smile. "Party at my house tonight. Sinbad's idea." She winked at him.

Gaston gave her an amused smile. "He has a chance to get you alone and he'd rather have a party? Are you sure he's not gay?"

Vanessa frowned. "Sinbad's not gay."

Gaston shrugged. "Then maybe he's just not interested in playing your game."

"What game?"

"The one where you use other guys to try and make me jealous." Gaston leaned towards her. "And right now you're losing."


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm a soldier to my own emptiness; I'm a winner."  
-Adam Lambert (cover), _Marry the Night_

* * *

_I hate them_, Meg thought as she downed her third (or was it her fourth?) cup of beer. She watched Vanessa trying to make Gaston jealous by grinding all over Sinbad while at the same time, Gaston pretended not to notice Vanessa's pathetic display as some blonde slut named Helga Sinclair rubbed her pleather-clad body against his. Rolling her eyes, Meg crushed the plastic cup in her hand and tossed on the ground, before pushing her way to the kitchen to get another one.

Brom Bones was manning the keg. He was a beefy football player and also the school hero. Everyone loved him and there really wasn't anything about him to dislike; if you liked preppy, arrogant football players. Brom wasn't mean-spirited like a lot of the guys on the team (or most of the popular kids, really), but he was the type of guy who hated to lose and had an ego that could be easily bruised. In short, he was the exact type of guy Meg would enjoy tormenting in her current mood. But when she reached the keg she saw her friend, Jim Hawkins, and she decided to leave Brom alone.

Meg took her drink from Brom and walked over to Jim. He was leaning against a counter; arms crossed, a plastic cup in one hand, and he was pretending to listen as a very drunk Dimitri told him about some girl. Meg came up beside Jim and nudged his foot with the toe of her boot. He looked at her and gave her his famous crooked smile.

There was no doubt that Jim Hawkins was a rebellious bad boy and he could make any girl momentarily willing to throw away her morals with that crooked smile. Even Meg had fallen for him at one point. But after hooking up once, they realized that was all they really wanted from each other and there was no romantic connection or serious feelings between them. They were still friends with benefits, but their late night hooks up didn't happen as often as in the beginning and they were now more just good friends than anything else.

Jim raised his cup and tilted it towards Meg. "Megara."

"Hawkins."

"Whoa, Meg," Dimitri slurred. "Lookin' hot."

Meg was still wearing the same outfit she wore to school earlier that day and Dimitri had seen her in their Spanish class, but now he was acting as if he was seeing her for the first time. Though, Meg couldn't say she was surprised. Dimitri was in the popular crowd and unless you were in their exclusive circle (which Meg definitely was not), they didn't notice you at school. But Dimitri was noticing her now. She let him oogle her cleavage for a moment, before telling him to get lost so she could be alone with Jim. Dimitri eyed them, then winked at Meg before walking away.

"You don't look happy," Jim pointed out, bringing his cup to his lips. "Has the Leather Vixen struck again?"

Of all the names she had been called by other students, the nickname Jim gave her was the only one she took pride in. He started calling her by it last year. After her boyfriend of a year, Flynn Rider, broke up with her Meg started dating with a vengeance. It wasn't hard to find boys to use; she had the perfect body for manipulating teenage boys. But, Flynn had been the only one she actually loved and the break up made her bitter and- as Jim has pointed out to her many times- just outright mean when it came to guys. But that didn't stop them from wanting her. Vixen became the best adjective to describe her: a sexual, hot and mean femme fatale type who was always seen wearing some sort of article of clothing made of leather. At first, it was all about showing Flynn he hadn't hurt her and she didn't care about him. Now, it was just who she was.

"No," Meg finally replied. "It's Gaston and Vanessa. They're acting like idiots." Meg took a long drink. "Especially Vanessa. She's trying to make Gaston jealous by throwing herself at Sinbad."

"Gaston doesn't get jealous."

Meg shook her head. From where she was standing, she saw Gaston in the living room. He was flexing his bicep and letting Helga feel it. Meg didn't see Vanessa, though. "No, he doesn't. But, he loves Vanessa and this game or whatever she's playing is only going to piss him off and I'm the one who's gonna be stuck in the middle of it." She downed the rest of her beer and crushed the cup. Jim handed her his half full cup.

"Sounds like you need to release some of that anger," Jim said. Meg nodded and took a drink from his cup. Jim motioned at the other guys at the party. "So, who will be the poor bastard to fall victim to the Leather Vixen tonight?"

Meg scanned the crowded house, but didn't see many prospects. Phoebus was one of her favorites with his rugged face and hard body, but he was also the only one who liked to bite back and tonight she wanted someone who was easy to tear down. She spotted Naveen not far from her, but his attention was on Esmeralda- the only girl in school who worked part time at the strip club just outside of town. She looked passed him and found her target.

Zak Young. He was a decent-looking guy with blonde hair and brown eyes, toned body and California tan. Meg also knew that Zak and his girlfriend, Crysta, were currently on a break so he was fair game. Meg handed Jim his beer and started making her way towards Zak. She didn't get far, though, when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She glanced over and saw Flynn leaning against the wall with his arm draped over his girlfriend's shoulders. Rapunzel… the blonde cheerleader Flynn broke up with Meg for.

Meg and Flynn had been good together and Meg was totally in love with him. Flynn claimed he loved her, too. But then Rapunzel moved to town all perky and cute and that was it. Flynn and Rapunzel became lab partners and after only two days, Flynn decided he had to be with her; so he broke up with Meg and the next day he was with Rapunzel.

Meg tore her eyes away from them and continued towards Zak. No way was she going to let Flynn get to her.


	4. Chapter 4

"If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago  
I might not be alone"  
-Gin Blossoms, _Hey Jealousy_

* * *

Helga Sinclair was a for-sure thing. Not to say she was a slut; she wasn't by any means. But, she wanted Gaston and at Vanessa's party she made it very clear she was his for the taking. It was because of this that she bored Gaston. He put on a show for her at the party and gave her the attention she was after, but he didn't go home with her.

In order to prove to Vanessa that her jealousy game wasn't working on him, he had to show her that he wasn't playing. It would be easy for him to hook up with a girl that was throwing herself at him just to make Vanessa jealous. However, if he was going to really convince her that he didn't care, he had to put effort into pursuing a girl. He had to make it look like the girl he was going after was the one he really wanted and not Vanessa. Besides, the hunt was more fun anyway.

So, while Vanessa tried to make Gaston jealous by doing everything she could think of to Sinbad- short of actually having sex right there on the living room floor- Gaston scanned the party for the girl he would be going home with that night. Who she was didn't matter; he was drunk enough that, come morning, he wouldn't remember anything about her or what they did together, anyway.

That's how he ended up where he was now: in the backseat of his car with tomboy Akima. Gaston knew very little about her other than the fact that she's in his shop class. Her hair was black and cut real short in the back, but was long and purple in the front. She typically wore unflattering clothes that were obviously made for men; including a vest that did a good job of hiding her figure. Gaston had been pleasantly surprised to find she actually had decent rack under those clothes; nothing like Vanessa's or even Meg's, but better than he had been expecting. Part of him had thought she might have the body of a twelve-year-old boy under that vest. Still, when they were done, she was quick to put her clothes back on and his attraction to her diminished significantly.

Now as he watched her blow cigarette smoke out the partially opened foggy window, he wondered why he had gone after her in the first place. Curiosity, perhaps. Now that he knew what she was hiding under those clothes (a decent body, but not much skill), he also knew hooking up with her was a one-time thing. Judging by the uncomfortable way she avoided looking at him and kept moving closer to the door, Gaston could tell Akima felt the same way. Good. At least he wouldn't have to deal with awkward run-ins with her later when he didn't call her or attempt to hook up with her again.

When Akima finished her cigarette, she flicked it out the window. "I'd like to go back to the party now," she said.

Without another word, the two of them moved to the front seat and Gaston drove her back to Vanessa's house. It was only ten o'clock, so the party was still going. Gaston didn't want to go back in there, though. After dropping Akima off, he went back home.

There were a couple cars in the driveway when he got home and he remembered on Monday nights his mom hosts what she calls a "book club", but what was really just a get-together with her and some women who spent the whole night talking about how great his mom is and how they all envy her.

Last year his mom married Fergus Dunbroch; a rough-around-the-edges man who spends most of his time outdoors and has his own outdoor reality show on the Travel channel or the Discovery channel or something. Gaston really didn't know too much about the show and had never actually watched it. But, Fergus was loaded due to the show and the chain of outdoor stores that came from the success of the show. Gaston's mom became a trophy wife and the envy of every other wife in town.

His mom got a fortune, while Gaston got two step-siblings. Eric is the same age as him, but nothing like him. Eric is a true golden boy: well-behaved, excels at everything he does, perfect grades, popular and good-looking. Gaston has never met Fergus' ex-wife, Elinor, but he guesses Eric must take after her. Eric's sister, Merida, is a year younger than him and exactly like their dad- right down to the same unruly red hair. Gaston didn't mind Merida, but he hated Eric.

Gaston parked his car in the grass, then slipped around to the back door to avoid his mom. The second he was upstairs in his room, he stripped off his clothes and collapsed on the bed. He didn't realize how tired he was until he lied down. He didn't sleep in his own bed last night and it felt good to be back. This was a lot more relaxing than having Freddie Prinze, Jr. smiling at him from the wall across the room.

Thinking back to waking up in Ariel's bedroom made Gaston smirk. He had no idea how he ended up sleeping with Eric's girlfriend, but he was glad he could tarnish Golden Boy's perfect life. Eric didn't know about it right now, but Gaston would make sure he found a way to let Eric know exactly what he did to his girlfriend.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Gaston woke up a couple hours later to the faint sound of his phone ringing. He felt around on his bed for it, then remembered it was in his pocket. He leaned over the edge of the bed and picked up his jeans off the floor. He dug around in his pockets until he found his phone then answered it.

"What do you want?" he demanded to whoever was on the other line. He dropped his pants back on the floor and lied down.

"You're answering your phone; you must be alone."

Gaston roughly ran his hand over his face. "Who the fuck is this?"

"It's Meg, you idiot. Don't you check your caller i.d. before you answer the phone?"

"It's late; what do you want?"

"Why are you alone, Gaston? What happened to your prize score?" Meg taunted.

"She was no prize. And I don't know what happened to her; I dropped her back off at the party when we were done," Gaston said. "Now tell me why you called or I'm hanging up."

Meg was quiet for a moment, then said, "I don't know. I just got home and couldn't sleep. I wasn't sure you'd even answer."

"So, why call?"

"I guess I just knew you'd be as lonely as I am tonight."

"You don't know anything." Gaston hung up and tossed the phone on the floor.

He rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. After a few minutes, though, he realized it was no use: he was awake. He sat up and pulled his jeans back on. He checked to make sure he had his wallet, then grabbed his phone off the floor and headed out to his car.

There's a 24-hour diner in town that Gaston often went to when he couldn't sleep. The food was mediocre at best and the coffee was terrible, but it was the only place open late at night. When he got there, there were only a couple tables actually occupied; mostly by stoned teenagers who probably just came from Vanessa's party. Gaston found a secluded table next to a window that faced the parking lot and slumped down in the booth.

"What can I get you?" a waitress asked, appearing almost instantly. She was a chubby, middle-aged woman with black hair pulled back tightly in a bun. Her name tag read _Carlotta_.

Gaston wondered what had to go wrong in a woman's life for her to end up waitressing at diner at one o'clock in the morning this late in her life.

"Eggs, bacon and hash browns."

Carlotta nodded as she jotted down his order on a notepad. "Anything to drink?"

"Coffee." He hated the coffee here, but he was starting to hit the downside of his drinking at the party and the coffee would help.

"Coming right up." Carlotta smiled at him and walked away.

"Tell me something," a sultry voice said, coming up behind Gaston. "If you're not lonely, what are you doing here?" Meg sat down in the booth across from Gaston. She leaned back and tapped her black-polished nails on the table, waiting for him to answer.

"I'm hungry," he said.

"Bull. You don't come here because you're hungry, Gaston; you come here because you have nowhere else to go," Meg told him. "And you have nowhere else to go because you have no real friends and no girlfriend. You're lonely; admit it."

"Fuck off."

Meg nodded casually. "That's what I thought."

"Why are _you_ here?"

"I knew you'd be here and I figured there's no point in both of us being alone."

Carlotta came back with Gaston's food and coffee then.

"You're alone by choice," Gaston pointed out to Meg as Carlotta set his plate on the table.

Meg instantly snatched a piece of bacon of his plate. "That's true. It's better to be alone, Gaston; no one can hurt you."

"No one can love you, either."

Meg cocked an eyebrow at him. "I'm not looking for love. I had love once and the pain afterwards wasn't worth it. _Flynn_ wasn't worth it and I'll tell you what, Gaston; Vanessa's not worth it, either. No one is."

"Vanessa _is_."

Meg rolled her eyes. "She doesn't care about you and you don't care about her. If you did, you'd be trying to get her back and making things work instead of trying to make the wound deeper by sleeping around. Why can't you just be honest with yourself and wake up? The only reason she's trying to make you jealous is because she likes the game. And you're only trying to piss her off because _she _broke up with _you_ and hurt your ego."

"You're wrong."

Meg slowly shook her head. "No, I'm not. I know both of you." She reached over and picked up his coffee mug and took a sip. A look of disgust crossed her face and she forced herself to swallow it instead of spitting it back in the mug. "That's awful."

Gaston ignored the coffee like he ignored the rest of his food. "Who did you go home with tonight, Meg?"

"Zak Young. The blonde guy who just moved here from California."

"How was it?"

Meg shrugged. "Not bad. Jim is better."

Gaston smirked at her. "Maybe one night you and I should give it a shot."

Meg laughed as she slid his plate in front of her. "No way. I'm already too involved with in this war between you and Vanessa; I don't want to make it complicated."

Gaston choked down some of the coffee. "Maybe when the war's over then?"

Meg stabbed at the hash browns with the fork. "This is going to end with you and Vanessa getting back together because no one else can handle the two of you."

Gaston watched Meg eat for a minute. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing all day, but now her eye makeup was smudged and her hair was hanging messily out of her ponytail. She was pretty even when she was a mess. "Let me ask you something, Meg."

"Okay. Shoot."

"You say love isn't worth it and that Flynn and Vanessa aren't worth it. But, I'm curious: do you think _you're_ worth it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think there's someone out there who would think you're worth risking the pain of heartbreak for?"

Meg stared hard at him for a long time before finally saying, "Hell no."

* * *

_**For those of you were following this story, I'm sorry I've neglected it for so long. I haven't been on Fan Fiction much lately. But, I'm gonna try to be more active and I fully intended on finishing this story.  
**_


	5. Chapter 5

Vanessa managed to get through the week with only a handful of awkward encounters with Gaston. But Friday night came around and she knew she was going to see him at the football game. She didn't want to go, but Sinbad was on the team and she needed to continue pretending to be Sinbad's doting girlfriend. She convinced her best friend, Eris, to go with her so she wouldn't be alone.

It was the beginning of October and it was a cold night. Vanessa regretted the mini skirt she chose to wear as soon as she sat down on the cold metal bleachers. She pulled Sinbad's letterman jacket tightly around her and shivered.

"I regret this already," Eris grumbled, pulling the sleeves of her sweater over her hands. "This is exactly why I don't date football players. Granted, their asses look hot as hell in those pants; but it's still not worth sitting here in the cold."

"Well, I appreciate you keeping me company."

Rapunzel and the rest of the cheerleaders gathered on the other side of the short fence and led the crowd in a pre-game cheer about the quarterback, Brom Bones. Gaston and Meg showed up halfway through the cheer. As they walked in front of the fence, Meg flicked her cigarette at Rapunzel. Rapunzel jumped back, knocking over Brom's girlfriend, Katrina, and Meg laughed. Meg and Gaston stopped just a couple feet away from Vanessa to talk to Jim Hawkins. Gaston looked like James Dean in a tight white t-shirt and blue jeans. Meg was enviously hot in her ripped jeans and black leather corset. Like Gaston, she wasn't wearing a jacket, but she wore black fingerless gloves. Meg pulled out another cigarette and lit it. She took a drag before offering it to Jim.

"You're staring," Eris commented.

Vanessa tore her eyes away from them. "I can't help it."

"Sinbad is hotter than Gaston."

Vanessa shook her head. "You're crazy."

Eris shrugged. "As your friend, I feel inclined to tell you: when you and Gaston get back together, I'm totally gonna hook up with Sinbad."

"We're not getting back together."

"Please. How long do you really think you can resist him? I mean, my God! Look at those fuckin' muscles."

Vanessa fought the desire to look over at her ex-boyfriend. "I know very well what his muscles look like."

"Does he look as good shirtless as he does in that t-shirt?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I thought you said Sinbad is hotter than Gaston."

Eris nodded. "Sinbad has a better face, for sure. But, no one fills out a t-shirt quite like Gaston." She paused in thought. "Except maybe Hercules."

"Can we _please_ talk about something else?" Vanessa pleaded.

"Vanessa, why don't you just ditch Sinbad and go make out with Gaston behind the bleachers like you used to? Everyone knows that's what you want."

Vanessa shook her head. "Fuck Gaston."

"Yes! Exactly! Go fuck Gaston."

Vanessa groaned. "No, Eris. I hate him."

"Fine. Then I will." Eris got to her feet.

Vanessa stared at her in shock. "_What_?"

"If you don't want him, then I'll take him." Eris eyed Vanessa, waiting for her to object. When Vanessa didn't say anything, Eris sauntered over to Gaston.

Vanessa watched helplessly as Eris flirted with Gaston. Her seduction was effortless and lured in Gaston instantly. His blues eyes roamed over her curvy body, pausing where her sweater stretched over her chest. The wind blew her black hair over her face and Gaston gently tucked it behind her ear.

_Why is she doing this?_ Vanessa seethed.

Eris stepped closer to him and put her hand on his chest as she whispered something into his ear. He smiled mischievously at her, then put his arm over her shoulders and led her away. Eris glanced at Vanessa over her shoulder and winked at her.

Vanessa lowered her eyes. _What a fucking slut._ Vanessa didn't know what Eris was trying to prove by hooking up with Gaston, but she was going to make her regret it.

"So, that just happened." Meg plopped down next to Vanessa. "_Why_ did that just happen?"

"I don't know."

Meg took a drag off her cigarette. She exhaled, her breath mixing with the smoke. "Does it bother you that your best friend is about to hook up with the man you love?"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "I hate him."

Meg laughed. "Bullshit! You are _in love _with that guy. And he is, as we speak, bringing your best friend to the same spot he used to bring you."

Vanessa clenched her jaw. "He can do whatever he wants with whoever he wants."

"Oh, believe me, he is." Meg flicked her ashes. "But, isn't that what you want?"

"Excuse me?"

"You started this whole jealousy game," Meg pointed out. "So, I guess, you can't actually being mad at Gaston when he plays along."

"_I_ didn't start anything. Gaston and I broke up because of _him_ and what _he_ did."

Meg slowly shook her head, not taking her purple eyes off Vanessa. "Gaston didn't do anything and _you_-" she pointed at Vanessa with her cigarette- "you know it."

"How can you be so naïve, Meg? You know what he did."

Meg brought her cigarette up to her lips. "I've known Gaston a long time and I believe him."

"Well, I don't. Neither does anyone else."

Meg shrugged. "He doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks."

"He should."

"A lion never loses sleep over the opinions of sheep." Meg dropped her cigarette on the ground and smashed it under her boot. "Gaston's gonna be just fine, Vanessa. With or without you. But, if you want it to be _with_ you, then you need to put an end to all of this. He's not gonna wait around for you to get bored with Sinbad. Each girl he hooks up with pulls him further away from you. Either swallow your pride or let him go."

"I don't have him."

Meg's expression hardened. "That's right: you don't. Because you're an idiot. Gaston may have some major flaws, but deep down he's a good guy and the best _you're_ ever gonna get."


End file.
